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RoadKill (GameCube) artwork

RoadKill (GameCube) review


"Roadkill is the most amazing game of its type for the lowly Gamecube. Just as the title says, “GTA meets Twisted Metal!” What gamer wouldn’t want that combination? Although there was almost no competition to crush in the car combat/GTA genre, Roadkill would kill most other games of the genre anyway. Quite a relatively unknown/unplayed title, it’s too bad Midway’s GTA spin off didn’t get noticed by many. Any readers looking for car destruction, BUY THIS GAME NOW! "

Roadkill is the most amazing game of its type for the lowly Gamecube. Just as the title says, “GTA meets Twisted Metal!” What gamer wouldn’t want that combination? Although there was almost no competition to crush in the car combat/GTA genre, Roadkill would kill most other games of the genre anyway. Quite a relatively unknown/unplayed title, it’s too bad Midway’s GTA spin off didn’t get noticed by many. Any readers looking for car destruction, BUY THIS GAME NOW!

Graphics (8/10)

Everything in Roadkill has a distinct rustic look to it, perhaps because the settings are post apocalyptic cities. The main vehicles all look good, but they are no where near detailed like the ones in Gran Turismo and such. Nothing in Roadkill looks bad, but nothing looks utterly amazing, or overly well done. Rock solid, but nothing more than what our Gamecube could handle. The graphics are around the same as GTA, if not a bit better. I can’t really say more on the topic, except that you’ll be fairly pleased in what you’re seeing.

Audio (7/10)

There is a wide range of sounds and music in Roadkill. The in game music is pretty unnoticeable, but suits the moods well. Nothing that truly hits home, but nothing mute worthy either. You have an option of turning on the radio and listening to different stations which have some classic rock songs, some techno, space, and jam music. It’s all OK, but there’s no really great song choices. You’ll frequently hear radio commercials and talk shows going on, and some of they are quite entertaining to listen to. Some of the topics are pretty Mature, because the game is rated 17+. The radio really sounds authentic, and gives you the feel of being in a real car! Midway’s goal I’ll bet.

The sound effects are all par too. The screams of the pedestrians as they hit your windshield, the small fleshy “squish” when people hit your bumper, the clink of metal as you ram other cars; its all there. The engine noises have a few variations also; from the low pitched rumbles of trucks, to the squeals of the engines in some cars, and the powerful loud engines of the non authentic muscle cars. The only problem is that sometimes engine sounds seem to fade in and out randomly. You’ll be accelerating and you can hear your engine getting up to speed, when suddenly the sound fades out, and nothing. Kind of annoying since you’d think since it’s a driving game they’d want the engines to sound the best.

Gameplay (9/10)

The shining point in the game! Your urge to lay waste to more people, and produce more carnage...Roadkill is the only way to satisfy this craving - unless you have a PS2, and GTA..Basically as Mason, a loner looking to survive in the apocalyptic world, you need to cut a name for yourself, and to do that you’re hired by a new boss in each of the three cities. The game isn’t really linear either. You can drive anywhere any time in the current city you’re in, and once you advance to the next city you can drive back to the previous ones. But you’ll eventually have to enter the mission ring to start advancing in the game. Once you enter that though you’ll have to complete your bosses’ goals to get further. Missions range from things like: Kill a certain vehicle, spy on a certain vehicle, snipe opposing gangs, collecting cargo, destroying rival gang leaders, making deliveries, and anything else you could possibly do in a driving game. There’s plenty of variety, so nothing will go stale in the 15-20 hours it will take you to beat the campaign.

In each city you’ll have a garage. You’ll start out with a limited number of vehicles, but can eventually recruit about 30 of them. Once again there’s variety to the cars, and most of them look straight out of the movie “Road Warrior.” There’s vans, buggies, carts, a LAWN MOWER, trucks, and so forth. You can unlock the rest of the vehicles by beating missions, and by finding the car blueprints scattered around the levels. That was a really great idea, and adds a nice search element to the game when you’re not doing the main campagin. There’s also plenty fun to be had just screwing around in the cities. The physics aren’t too life like, so you’ll have fun getting some big time air of some little things. There are ramps scattered around the levels, and with many you can launch to the tops of buildings. It’s fun just to explore the worlds for a few hours at a time. There are enough interesting weapons in the game too. I’m not busting into detail though. Special Weapons fans, you’ll be disappointed though, as none of the cars have them like in “Twisted Metal.” There’s also great multiplayer to be had, with about 10 all new levels, from the likes of “Hell,” “Arena”, and more. It’s just basic Twisted Metal fun.

Story (8/10)

Although I can’t remember the full details of the story since it’s been so long since my last play through, I’ll give you what I can. Mason, an outcast of the apocalyptic world that has been affected by many a plague, is looking for employment and to make a name for himself. He survives by doing various jobs for people, and is ultimately trying to make it to paradise city. He works with the biggest gang’s leader there, and in the end you’ll be squaring off against him for dominance. It was a little tricky to understand, but was plenty more than what I was expecting for a driving game!

Replay Value (9/10)

Almost perfect. It was good enough to make play the main quest over again, and multiplayer can easily get you 20 more hours of playtime, taking in the fact that you have some friends.

Overall (8/10)

Good Graphics, and convincing audio. A great story line for a driving game. Through the roof replay value, and a great main quest. Clone of GTA and Twisted Metal? Yes, but it adds a lot of new material, and Gamecube owners got none of those games anyways, so be glad! And this game is definitely a buyer, not a renter. Thank you Midway games!



G_Dub's avatar
Community review by G_Dub (December 07, 2007)

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